Reducing-valve.



S. A. STINSON.

REDUCING VALVE.

AIPLIGATION r1121) JUNE 13, 1911.

Patented Oct. 8, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

BY 1 0a A TTORA/E Y S WITNESSES WWW S. A. STINSON.

REDUCING VALVE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNI113,1911.

Patented Oct. 8, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 0/ 2 ,H fllllllllllullll WITNESSES a im ATTORNEYSSPENCER A. STINSON, OF BLAIRSTOWN, NEW JERSEY.

REDUCING-VALVE.

Specification of-Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 8, 1912.

' Application filed June 13, 1911. Serial No. 632,915.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SPENCER A. S'rmsoN, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Blairstown, in the county of Warren and State of NewJersey, have invented a new and Improved Reducing-Valve, of which thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to reducing valves, my more particular purposebeing to provide a valve of this kind having a great variety of uses andbeing of simple structure -and also being capable ofhandling the flow ofliquids in large quantities as well as in high, low or varying pressure.7

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings in which likecharacters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views,and in which- Figure 1 is a view partly in side elevation and partly insection, showing my reducing valve which, in this instance, is closed;that is, in such condition that a liquid can not flow freely through it;Fig. 2 is a section on the line 22 of Fig. 1, looking in the directionof the arrow; Fig. 3 is a section on the line 33 of Fig. 2, looking inthe direction of the arrow, or in other words, looking upward from apoint beneath the valve, certain movable parts, however, having changedpositions; Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2, looking in thedirection of the arrow; Fig. 5 is a section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1,looking in the direction of the arrow; Fig. 6 is a detail, being asection through the slide valve; and Fig. 7 is a detail showing how thecrank pin of the main valve member is connected with the parts used foractuating it.

A casing 8 is provided with a partition floor 9 and with an extension10. The casing is further provided with a lid 11 detachably mounted uponthe extension 10. A main section 12 practically disposed within thecasing, yetintegral with it (see Figs 4 and 5) is provided with apassage 13 and with a threaded nipple 14. Mounted upon the latter is acoupling 15 inclosing a ring 16Yfor the purpose of connecting the casingto a main section. Thecasing is further provided with a central housing12 having a convex portion 12 and'servin as a valve housing, ashereinafter describe The casing 8 is also provided with a threaded nip-'ple 17 to facilitate itsco'nnection with a.

through the tubular connection 40 the cylinder 40 so as to press againstthe pismain. A valve cylinder 18 is provided with a discharge opening 19and is connected by a pipe 20 with the main section 12.

Slidably mounted within the valve cylinder 18 is a slide valve 21, thestructure of which may be readily understood by reference to Fig. 6.This slide valve is provided with an annular passage 22 extending entirely around it, and is further provided wlth an axial passage 24 ofcylindrical form. A pin 23 extends diametrically across the passage 24at the approximate middle of the valve, and connected to this pin is avalve stem 25, which extends through a head 26 which is threadedexternally and fitted into one end of the valve cylinder 18 so as toclose the same. The valve stem 25 carries an eye 27 having a slot 28through it. Extending through this slot is a pin 26 which is mountedupon a lever 29. This le ver is mounted upon a pin 30 and carriesanother pin 31 Whichextends through an eye 32, and somewhat similar tothe eye 27 A threaded tube is shown at 33 and extends through a head 33,to which it is firmly secured, the head 33 being mounted rigidly uponthe casing. A rod 34 is provided with a portion 35 of reduced diameter,this por' tion extending entirely through the thread' ed tube 33, andcarrying the eye 32. A spiral spring 36 encircles the rod 34 and thethreaded tube throughout the greater portion of the length thereof.

Revolubly mounted upon the tube 33 is a nut 37 having a milled outersurface by aid whereof it may be turned. A washer 38 encircles the tube33 and engages the nut 37. The rod 34 carries a bead 39, against whichthe adjacent end of the spring 36 presses. A cylinder 40 is mounted uponthe casing 8 and contains a small piston 40, shown more particularly inFig. 4, and carried by the rod 34. The cylinder 40 is supported by thecasing 8 and by aid of a tubular connection 40 (see Fig. 4) is in opencommunication with the main section 12. The rod 34 and the threaded tube33 are pressed in opposite directions by the spring 36, the

threaded tube 33 being stationary, however, and the rod 34 beingmovable. The arrangement of the parts is such that when a liquid passesfrom the main section 12 and into ton 40, therod 34, including itsreduced portion 35 is, as a unit, moved to the right according to Fig. 1so as to shift the posicylinder 40, or when the pressure therein dropsbelow a predetermined limit controllable by the spring 36, the pressureof the piston 40 occupies the extreme position to the left according toFig. 3, and the lever 29 and valve 21 occupy their respective positionsindicatedin Fig. 1.

A cylinder 43 is provided with ports 41, 42 leading to its ends and to acylindrical passage 44 with which the cylinder 43 is also provided.Slidably mounted within this passage is a piston 45and connected to thelatter is a piston rod 46 which slidably engages a stationary guide 46and extends through a cylinder head 47, the latter being threaded andfitted into the adjacent end of the cylinder 43 so as to close the same.The piston rod 46/ is provided with an enlarged portion 48 havinggenerally an annular form. Extending through this annular portion andrevolubly thereto, is a pin 49 carrying a sleeve 50. This sleeve is,therefore, swiveled relatively to the piston rod 46. A crank 52 isprovided witha smooth cylindrical portion 51 Which extends through thesleeve 50 and slidably engages the same. The arrangement of these partsis such that when the piston rod 46 is moved in the general direction ofits own length, the sleeve 50 not only turns upon the axis of the 'in 49as a center, but also has a little sllding movement relatively to thecylindrical portion 51 of the crank. .The crank 52 is mounted rigidlyupona stub shaft 53, and encircling the latter is a spiral spring 54.One end of this spiral spring is connected with the crank 52, and theopposite end of the spring is connected with the housing of the valve,as will be understood from Fig. 1.

Mounted within the housing 12 is a valve plug '55 which may be turnedinto angular positions different from each other by approximately 90degrees. The valve plug 55 isprovided with a straight passage 56extending diametrically through it and having adiameter substantiallyequal'to'that of the .passage' 13. The valve plug 55, when turned intoone of 'its extreme positions,

brings the passage 56 into axial alinement.

with the passage 13, whereas if the valve plug 55 be turned into itsopposite extreme position, the passage 56 travels in the generaldirection of the length of the passage 13. Closure members. 57, 58 andpackings 59, 60 are provided for the purpose of preventing the escape ofliquid which might otherwise take place. e

Adjacent to one end of the rod 46 and in alinement therewithis a bracket61, the lat- I ter having a slot 62 through which extends a set: screw63: The set screw normally holds the bracket 61 rigidly in position. andthis bracket thus serves as a limiting stop for preventing excessivetravel of the piston rod 46 in one direction. By loosening the screw 63,however, the bracket 61 may be adjusted, and after its adjustment it maybe held in its new position by tightening the screw. By adjusting thebracket 61 in the manner just described, the play of the piston rod 46,and consequentlythe degree to which the valve plug 55 may be closed, iscon-- trollable at the will of the operator. The function of thisbracket 61' is to prevent the valve plug 55 from being forced tootightly into its seat, thus causing it to stick. The

eccentric form ofthe valve plug causes it to be lifted entirely from its.seat as'it is opened and the only time that it is incontact with theseat is when it is entirely closed, and if it were forced too fararound, the eccentric form, would cause it to pinch.

= The operator, by turning the nut 37, and

thus'conferring any desired degree of compression upon the spring 36,may regulate to" great nicety, the sensitiveness of the control of thisdevice over the pressure and volume of water passing through it, as.hereinafter described.

ll provide two-doors 64, 65 which are suspended directly from pins-66,67 and by their own weight are normally closed. The operator, by merelyshifting one or both of these doors, may readily introduce his hands'into thecasing, as will be understood from Figs. 4 and 5. The casing 8is provided with nipples 68 to which pressure gages are attached, thesepressure gages being accessible by merely shifting the doors 64, 65-

The valveplug 55 is provided with shoulders 69 which, when the valve isfully open. are in registry with stationary shoulders 70 carried by thehousing. Two passages 71, each having generally a slightly tapered formin cross section, as shown in Fig. 3, are so arranged that the shoulders69 may, without undue friction, be moved around until they engage thefixed shoulders 70. The purpose of this arrangement is, as above stated,to prevent the valve plug 55* from sticking in itsmountings. When the.

parts are in the position indicated in Fig.

'3, the contact surface between the valve plug. 55 and its mountings isreduced to a minimum. When, however, the valve plug is turned into itsopposite extreme position, sothat its shoulders .69 lodge against theshoulders 7 O, the contact surface is increased and this. takes'placejust when the valve is required to be worked, in order to prevent theflow of water or other liquid. V p j The operation of my device is asfollows: The adjustable parts being adjusted as above 15 is connectedwith a high pressure main,

and that the nipple 17 is similarly connected with a low pressure main,and that the liquid operated upon is water. Generally speaking, thepurpose of the device is to guard the water pressure and render thelatter uniform as the water passes from the high pressure main throughthe device and i into the low pressure main. The spiral spring 54normally tends to hold the valve plug 55 closed, that is, .in theposition indicated in Figs. 1 and 2. The water is for the moment,therefore, unable to get through the device. For this reason a smallportion of the water is forced through the pipe 20 and into the adjacentend of the valve cylinder 18. The valve 21 now being at the right, asindicated in Figs. 1 and 2, the port 42 is completely covered, while theport 41 is open. The port 42 is open to the exhaust, however, throughthe annular passage 22 and discharge opening 19. Consequently, the waterfinds its way down into the port 41 and into the cylinder 43. Here itpresses against the piston 45 and tends to move the latter toward theright. This turns the crank 52 in a counter-clockwise direction,according to Fig. 1, and this movement partially turns the valve plug55, or in other words, partially opens the main valve. A water pressurenow begins to develop in that part of the main section 12 to the left ofthe valve plug 55, according-to Figs. 1 and 2. A small quantity of wateris thus forced into the cylinder 40 and this portion of the waterpresses upon the piston 40, as will be understood from Fig. 3. When thepressure on the piston 40 becomes high enough to overcome the pressureof the spring 36, the rods 34, 35 move to the right, shifting theposition of the lever 29 and of the valve stem 25, so that the valve 21travels to the left. The tendency of this movement of the valve 21 is toclose the port 41, and thus cut it off from the water pressure in thecylinder 18 and to also close the port 42 and cut it off from theexhaust through the annular passage 22 and the discharge opening 19. Thevalve 21 is so constructed that when it occupies its middle position inthe cylinder .18, both ports 41 1nd 42 are entirely closed, and when itoceupiesthis middle position the piston 45 is held rigidly in theposition that it occupied in the cylindrical passage 44 at the time theports closed. When the piston 45 is held rigidly in one position, italso holds the valve plug 55 rigidly in a corresponding position, andthus a constant uniform flow of water is allowed through the valve plug55 as long as the pressure in the high pres sure main remains constant.The various parts are so adjusted. that the valve 21, through itscontrol by the piston 40 and the spring 36, takes up this middleposition in the cylinder 18 when the pressure in the low pressure mainreaches any desired amount. Any pressure desired in the low pressuremain, from zero to a pressure equal to that in the high pressure main,canbe had by turning the milled headed nut 37 and thus compressing orreleasing the spring 36. If the pressure in the low pressure mainbecomes greater than that desired, the piston 40 is moved farther to theright against the compression in the spring 36, the valve 21 is moved tothe left and the port 41 opened to the exhaust through the annularpassage 22 and the discharge opening 19, while the port 42 will beopened to the pressure of the water through the tube 20 and thecylindrical passage 24. The pressure will come in to the right of thepiston 45 and; move it to the left, thus tending to close the valve plug55 and diminish the amount of water flowing through it. When thepressure in the low pressure main dro s to the desired amount, thespring 36 w1ll force the piston 40 to the left, thus moving the valve 21to the right until it closes both ports 41 and 42, when the piston 45and valve plug 55 are held rigidly as before. If the pressure in the lowpressure main drops below the desired amount, the action of the variousparts is reversed.

If it happens from any cause that the pressure in the low pressure mainrises to approximate that of the high pressure main, the tendency of thevarious spring controlled parts to return to their normal positions willinsure a total or partial closure of the main valve, and any substantialreduction in the pressure of the low pressure main will similarly tendto open the main valve to such extent as will correct the undue decreaseof pressure. In practice, therefore, the valve plug 55, like the slidevalve 21, takes up a floating, yet tolerably steady position, and standsready torespond instantly to the slightest variation of any kind in therelative pressure of the high pressure and low pressure mains.

Having thus described my invention,what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is A reducing valve comprising a casing havin ahigh pressure side and a low pressure side, a main valve mounted withinsaid casing, a piston for actuating said main valve, a cylinder slidablyengaged by said piston, a slide valve for controlling the flow of aliquid from the high pressure side of said easing into said cylinder, alever for actuatin said slide valve, :1 rod connected with said lever,means for causing a liquid from the low pressure side of said casing tomove said rod, a sleeve of tubular form encircling saidrod and servingasa hearing therefor, a spiral spring encircling a portion ofsaid rod anda portion of said name to this specification in the pres'ene sleeve, astop engaged by one end of said of two subscribing Witnesses.

spring, and a member adjustably mounted upon said sleeve and engaged bythe other SPENCER STINSON 5 end of said spring for controlling the ten-Witnesses:

sion of said spring. WALTON HARRISON,

In testimony whereof I have signed my JOHN P. DAVIS.

